Presidents Club

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Presidents Club Charitable Trust was a British charity that ran an annual charity dinner from 1985 to 2018. The dinner, usually held at The Dorchester in London, was for men only and was considered a major part of London’s social scene. Attendees paid for the dinner and could bid on prizes, such as meetings with influential people. The money raised went to charities, including children’s charities, the British Olympic Association, and Disability Rights International.

In 2018, the charity was led by joint chairs Bruce Ritchie and David Meller. The event typically drew about 360 male guests from business, entertainment, and politics.

Notable guests attended the dinners in years past. For example, in 2008 the event organized by Harvey Goldsmith included figures such as Jimmy Savile, Justin King, Harold Tillman, and Robert Tchenguiz. In 2010, the dinner organized by Peter Shalson and sponsored by HSBC included Len Blavatnik, Martin Sorrell, Richard Desmond, Bernie Ecclestone, Flavio Briatore, Nick Candy, Gerald Ronson, and others.

In January 2018, the Financial Times published an undercover report about the event. Two reporters joined about 130 hostesses hired for the night and described instances of sexual harassment and misconduct by some guests. The hostesses had signed non-disclosure agreements but were not allowed to read them. The report described groping, lewd comments, and requests for guests to join the women in their hotel rooms, with one hostess told she was a prostitute and another man exposing himself. The brochure for the event warned that harassment would not be tolerated but said the club would not be liable if it occurred. The article linked the scandal to the broader #MeToo movement.

Following the report, the Presidents Club announced it would disband. The fallout included calls for the resignation of Children and Families Minister Nadhim Zahawi, who had attended the event, and for a police investigation. David Meller resigned from his role at the Department for Education. Jonathan Mendelsohn, another attendee, was removed from the Labour frontbench in the House of Lords. Some bookstores stopped selling books by comedian David Walliams, who had hosted the event and offered a prize to name a character in his next book. While many men said they had neither participated in nor witnessed any misconduct, the 2018 guests list included several other notable figures, though not all attended.